There's a First Time for Everything
by sunshine1717
Summary: Tired of constantly feeling inadequate compared to his friends, Lazlo confides his worries in Edward about growing up, both of them discovering that "knowing" is not nearly as important as letting life progress on its own. Teen LxE One-Shot


**A/N**: _This was an idea I wanted to try out…I guess it's more mature, with an immature twist? __In the past, all my LxE stories were supposed to be geared towards when they were younger, but I wanted to try them out as teenagers too. So here we are. Seems like the unmentionable is usually always on teen boy's minds…except for Lazlo, of course! XD ...__ I don't want this to collect anymore dust on my hard drive, so I'm posting it to see how well it does._

_Lazlo and Edward have been together, in a distant sort of way... And Raj and Patsy have apparently been dating also? (I should know more about my own fic.) ...__I've gotten the impression that Edward is maybe a year younger than Lazlo? So they're about 13 and 14 in this, almost 14 and 15…Young enough to still be naïve about things. I also wanted to shove some insecurities at Lazlo. I thought it would be interesting seeing him in a new light, as he is now much older than his happy-go-lucky kid counterpart, and starts to realize how confusing life can be, growing up._

_I had some trouble with the ending, I hope it ties it up pretty well._

_This is just a one-shot fic, but I spent a lot of time with it and really like the end result. I'm not sure if I'll write anymore LxE for awhile, considering that's all I've written as of lately. But you can't blame me for being such a sucker for them._

_Please enjoy reading!_

_sunshine1717_

* * *

It was a quiet evening at camp. The sun was preparing to set over the rolling forest hills and the reflection of the orange-dyed sky lingered in Leaky Lake's waves.

A familiar Jelly trio had been relaxing by the shore in the soft grass, admiring the view.

"Another great summer." Lazlo's young-adult voice was smooth and kind.

Raj grinned. "Yes, I do believe so. I hate to see it end so soon."

"eh…sigh." Clam cooed.

"Look on the bright side! We've still got a couple days left! We should make the most of it." Lazlo was reassuring as always.

They all nodded in agreement to the notion.

The three friends had been attending Camp Kidney since they were much younger, and even now in their early stages of teenage-hood, they hadn't let time get the better of them. Raj was still yippy, vigilant, and prideful, while Clam continued his soft-spoken nature and to-the-point attitude. Lazlo, of course, was still the peace-loving optimistic kid he had always been. Nothing drastic had changed, apart from their more mature physiques. The frivolous Jellies had enjoyed every summer at camp, and this one hadn't been any different.

Raj swooned in the breeze. Lazlo and Clam noticed his abnormally high spirits.

"Gee Raj, you sure are happy tonight! What's got you so starry eyed?" Lazlo leaned in curiously.

Raj twiddled his thumbs. "What on _earth _are you talking about?"

Clam blurted out quickly, "Unusually blissful!"

The elephant rocked back and forth for a second, watching a nearby lady bug skitter across a blade of grass. He scooted away from it cautiously. "…It's nothing really."

Lazlo and Clam glanced at each other and then looked back at their Indian pal. "It sure doesn't _sound _like nothing!"

Raj was starting to turn red now. He turned away from his friend's prying gazes, but couldn't fend them away long enough. He eventually gave up. "Weellll…..Patsy and I…..we…..we…."

Clam and Lazlo leaned in closer.

Raj looked like he was about to faint. Finally, he blurted out, "We totally got to 2nd base yesterday!!"

Clam began to snicker to himself.

Lazlo grinned. "That's great buddy!"

Raj was blushing the darkest shade of red possible. "Eh heh…I-I guess so! I think we're gunna take things slower from now on though. What do you guys think?"

Clam nodded. "Measured Progression!"

Lazlo jumped in quirkily. "I guess that makes sense! If you keep practicing, maybe you'll make it to home base next time!"

Both Raj and Clam stared at the monkey in shock.

Lazlo blinked casually. "What?"

Raj gave him a confused look. "…Um, Lazlo, the whole point of taking it _slow _is to _wait _to get to home base!"

Lazlo sat and thought about this for a moment, then shrugged. "I dunno, Raj. I thought the whole point of baseball was to get to home base."

…..

The wind zipped past them and silence followed.

Finally, Raj and Clam fell over laughing.

Lazlo scratched the back of his head in confusion. "What's so funny, guys?"

Raj managed to squeeze out some words from his laughter. "…That's-…. not exactly-…what we were talking about."

The monkey pressed his lips together and felt them beginning to chap. "….Then what was it you meant?"

His two friends sat up and held onto their sides. "…Never mind, buddy. You'll figure it out one day."

It wasn't long before Lazlo took the hint that he was sorely mistaken about something they'd been referring to, and felt a bit embarrassed. How many times did this need to happen on a daily basis? Too many times, in Lazlo's case.

The three friend's were quiet again for awhile as they stared up at the clouds.

The awkwardness of the situation was beginning to grow more apparent though, and Lazlo thought hard for an excuse to leave. After some deliberated reflection, he remembered a previous engagement that he could escape to. He stood up out of the grass and brushed off his pants.

His friends watched him. "Where are you off to?"

Lazlo shrugged. "I dunno, the mess hall."

Raj crossed his arms. "_Mmhm_….and what is McMueslie serving tonight? Crème de platypus?"

The monkey's cheeks turned red. "..W-what do you mean?"

Raj peeked over at Clam, who just smirked. The elephant then wagged his hand in the air. "Fine, go. Don't keep that webbed-footed fiend waiting."

Lazlo tried to muster an honest smile. "I'll be right back! I promise, guys!"

"It's quite alright... You can meet us back at the cabin later." Raj had learned how to deal with Lazlo's strange affection for a certain irritable Edward by now, although he still frowned on the relationship. Not only was Edward rude and callous, but he sported no signs of being Lazlo's type at all. This was in Raj's close-minded opinion however. The elephant had to coach himself on a daily basis into understanding that love was love, no matter who or what you shared it with. Still, he was old-fashioned and stuck closely to his straight customs. Besides the boyXboy scenario, he had a hard time understanding how _Edward_, of all people, could possibly love _anything _at all! Let alone Lazlo.

Nevertheless, Lazlo continued to stay faithful to the platypus, despite everyone else's judgments, and that was possibly the beauty behind it all.

Raj watched as his monkey pal happily trotted back to camp artlessly. He sighed and rested his cheeks in his hands. "I will _never _understand him."

Clam waved to Lazlo. "Le amour stupefaction."

* * *

Lazlo strolled the camp grounds in search of his platypus companion, happy to flee the pressure of his friend's puzzling inside discussions. It bothered him, not understanding what they meant, and it had become more and more frequent as time went by. Was there some sort of secret he was totally missing out on?

Some younger scouts ran by all of a sudden, calling out happily, "Hi Lazlo!"

The monkey smiled and leaned down to their eye level. "Hey guys, seen Edward around?"

A little raccoon scout shook his head. "Nuh uh."

"You mean 'Mr. _Always _Grumpy'?" A marmoset scout blurted out.

Lazlo laughed. "That's true, but you know, Mr. Always Grumpy has a good side to him too."

Some of the young boys glanced at each other warily, wondering if Lazlo was kidding.

Lazlo smirked, "And _maybe _if you guys wouldn't torture him so much, he wouldn't be so cranky."

They all giggld to themselves, then nodded in unison.

Another scout jumped forward, sticking out his lower lip in a poutful manner. "Hey Laz, _when _are you gunna take us on that hike up Pimple Back Mountain? We only got'a week left of camp! You _promised_!"

Lazlo smiled gently. " I _did_, didn't I! Well, how's tomorrow sound?"

All the young boys jumped up and down with joy.

Lazlo beamed. He was popular amongst the younger Beans and took pride in being a big-brother figure to them. Lazlo had nearly reached the age where he could volunteer to train for a position as a camp-counselor the following summer, and his knack for the job was apparent.

"Kidney Beans! Lights out in 15 minutes, do I have to say it again??" They all turned around to see a frustrated looking Slinkman coming out of Lumpus's cabin. The kids took off running and laughing as the slug chased after them with a rolled up newspaper. "Not _this _again! Get to your cabins, boys!!"

Lazlo waved to everyone as they disappeared in the distance, admiring the innocent taunting the young Beans pestered Slinkman with. The poor slug was left with all the hard work, as usual. Scoutmaster Lumpus stayed in his office. Lazlo suspected that the honorable scoutmaster must have been hard at work. Honestly, the naïve monkey would never see the truthful ways of the big moose, who was at that very moment talking to a rubber duck in his bathtub and ignoring the bills and business papers piled high on his desk.

Returning to the matter at hand, Lazlo began skewering the premises for his ever-so enigmatic blonde platypus. Lazlo knew that Edward wouldn't actually be at the mess hall where they had originally planned on meeting. Instead, Lazlo searched in peculiar places. He _knew _Edward, and kept in mind that the platypus liked to pretend to forget about their rendezvous from time to time, because he liked to be cruel, or maybe because he was just secretly shy.

The monkey smiled at the evening air as he made his way to the end of camp and stood at the edge of the forest. The scent of pine and oak coated the atmosphere.

He pushed some bushes out of his path and walked into a small clearing where light beamed in daintily from the treetops above.

Sitting at the foot of an elm, scraping a piece of wood with a pocketknife, was a serene-looking Edward. His blonde bangs fell over his eyes and framed his youthful features. His blue eyes focused loosely on the wood he was carving at diligently.

Lazlo admired the image for a moment, then put on a sly face as he tiptoed through the underbrush and made his way around to the other side of the elm, where Edward couldn't see him.

The monkey tried not to laugh as he backed up against the tree trunk and slunk gingerly around to the other side.

Edward was still carving at the piece of wood obliviously.

Lazlo smirked and finally leaped forward, expecting to tackle the platypus by surprise. But just as he screamed out, "GOT CHA!," Edward grabbed the monkey's shoulders and rolled through the leaves with him, finally pinning Lazlo down to the ground by his wrists. He sat on top of him with a clever look on his face. "Not this time."

Lazlo squirmed around underneath him. "How did you know I was there??"

Edward rolled his eyes. "You _suck _at sneaking. It's your worst trait." He rolled off the monkey reluctantly.

Lazlo propped himself up on his elbows and smiled over at the platypus.

Edward sat uneasy in the brush.

After a moment, Lazlo sat up. "Are yah ready?"

Edward blinked. "Ready for…?"

"Come with me!" Lazlo hopped up to his feet and grabbed onto Edward's hand, pulling him up. He then began running through the trees with the limp platypus dangling behind.

"_**Hey**_! Where the _**heck **_are we goin'??" Edward barked.

Lazlo was smiling like a kid in a toy store. "I wanna show you something!"

Edward tried to add more weight to his body so Lazlo would let go of him, or at least slow down. But his efforts were useless.

They passed through thickets and bushes, down a few miscellaneous trails, until finally they reached a very tall oak tree, stretching high against the clouds.

Edward stared up at it blankly. "You wanted to show me a _tree_?"

Lazlo giggled, "No, you have to look _closer_! Follow me!"

The platypus lugged a sigh and followed the monkey's orders; something he normally avoided.

Lazlo led him up to the foot of the tree, then brushed away some moss.

Edward was surprised when he saw a ladder nailed into the bark, leading up into the branches overhead.

Lazlo held onto the unsteady steps and began climbing.

Edward reached up and grabbed the back of Lazlo's shirt, "_**Ooh **_no, you ain't draggin' me up there. I'd rather not get _mangled _by a 50 foot fall."

Lazlo reached down and tugged his shirt away from Edward's hand gently. "Aw, don't worry! There's nothing to be scared of! It's fine, trust me!"

"I'm _not _scared." The platypus grumbled to himself as he unwillingly climbed after the monkey.

Forgetting how good of a climber he was, Lazlo got carried away and made it to the very top in record time, making it impossible for Edward to keep up. "Would yah slow down!! Geesh!"

Lazlo waited at the top of the ladder for the platypus, until finally they both clutched the top step side by side.

Edward felt queasy from the high altitude and tried not to look down. "Is this it? We're just gunna cling for our lives up here for awhile?"

Lazlo smiled and shook his head, then reached up with one hand and parted back some tree branches, revealing a wooden door. Laz pushed up on it delicately and it opened in response.

He then climbed inside a wooden entryway and reached down to grab onto Edward's hands, helping him up as well.

Once they were both safely inside, Edward gazed around them. It was a rickety old tree house, years and years older than either of them. He blurted out the first thing that came to his mind. "What a dump."

Naturally, Lazlo didn't hear this negative reaction. He was beaming happily. "Isn't it great up here?"

A small window stood tranquilly on the far wall across the room. Edward curiously got to his feet and peered outside, staring in amazement at the beautiful view of Leaky Lake and the far off mountains bordering the horizon. The sun had barely gone down, and orange and pink clouds blanketed the skyline.

Lazlo stood beside Edward and rested his arms on the windowsill, marveling at the sight. "You like it?"

The platypus grinned slightly. "Where the heck did this come from? All these years I never knew it was up here."

"I found it a few years ago. Raj, Clam, and I were taking a hike and I got lost. I climbed up this tree to see where I was and stumbled across this old tree house! I never told anyone about it…. It looked too peaceful up here, I didn't want a bunch of people disturbing it."

Edward gazed over at Lazlo and then laid his own arms down on the windowsill. "It's an old run down shack in a tree, not a wild animal, Lazlo…"

The monkey shrugged. "Same difference."

Edward rolled his eyes and turned around, slidding down to the floor, resting his back up against the wall below the window. Lazlo still gazed out at the ripe sky.

The platypus studied the old woodwork that went into building the tree house. He imagined that years ago, some other couple might have been up there too, admiring the sunset and spending zealous time together. He blushed at the thought and began to wonder if Lazlo had any inkling of a clue about romantic associations.

He glanced up at the monkey with a curious expression.

_Of course _he didn't. This was Lazlo! Young, full of life, innocent Lazlo! Anything romantic to him went as far as a little peck on the cheek and a big bear hug. Not that Edward didn't appreciate these gestures, but it _would _be nice to experience other levels of romantic interactions. The thought of which Edward had pondered for months, but never let anyone know about it. He was an elusive daydreamer and his imagination sometimes got the better of him.

But would Lazlo _ever_ know about all these things? Was it even possible for the juvenile primate to comprehend? Did it even matter? So much in their lives were changing. He came to the conclusion that growing up initially sucked.

Before Edward could deliberate these topics further, Lazlo broke the silence. "Hey Edward? …What're you thinking about?"

Edward darted his eyes across the room. "N-nothing…just thinking about what I would say in my will if this tree house decided to collapse on us."

Lazlo could tell that something else was on Edward's mind. "It's nice up here though."

Edward rested his chin on his knees., unresponsive.

The room fell silent again.

They could hear each other breathing and the birds flitter around in the branches outside.

Lazlo couldn't help but return to his worrisome thoughts about Raj and Clam's strange drabble about "bases", and all the other times something similar had occurred where he had had _no _clue what they were talking about. It developed confusions he had never before dealt with.

He peeked down at Edward and watched his cheek sink further into his knees.

Lazlo swallowed hard and felt his nerves rising. Should he even mention anything to Edward about his worries? Somehow it was frightening to him.

The two of them stayed locked in their own minds for an unrecalled amount of time which leaked by like years.

The daylight outside was diminishing fast.

Finally, Lazlo spoke, but this time with hesitation in his voice. "Edward…Can I ask you something?"

The platypus peered up at him. "…Yeah, shoot."

"You won't laugh?" Lazlo was somber.

Edward held back a small chuckle. Normally, it was impossible for Lazlo to sound serious. "I ain't promisin' nothin'."

The monkey bit at his bottom lip for awhile, deliberating whether or not to continue. Then, hanging out the window, he finally stuttered a reply. "I-I've just been thinking a lot lately… and….I'm curious to know…How you-…I mean we-….um…."

Edward rose his eyes in interest.

Laz was having trouble with his words. "…Uh……..Well, Raj….and-…….They….told me-…..a-and….."

Edward grew impatient. "Spit it out, would yah!"

Lazlo's cheeks were bright red. He blurted it out quickly to ease the awkwardness. "I feel so stupid, everyone's always talking about how far they've gone with their girlfriends or boyfriends and what bases they're at, something about baseball! And I have no idea what they're even talking about, and I always say something dumb, and, and…. Is that bad?"

The question hit Edward like a brick. Could _Madame Lazlo_ read minds? Or was the timing absolutely candid? He suddenly felt a little unsure how to respond, but having Lazlo consul in him with the very same issue he had just been pondering moments before made him feel superior. This gave him a chance to see what he could get out the monkey, so he tossed around some possible explanations.

Lazlo glanced down at the platypus a few times, waiting for a response.

Edward finally spoke. "Well….." He found a small crack in the wooden floor to stare at while he talked. "I-it's not necessarily bad….it's just….When two people really like each other…they uh… I guess they show their love in more advanced ways."

Lazlo interrupted quickly. "Like kissing?"

Edward swallowed hard. "Y-yeah. There's kissing…and then there's…more _complex _kissing. And then…." His voice got caught in this throat. This was harder than he thought it would be… How could he possibly explain these things to innocent Lazlo? It was like telling a child about how every year at Christmas their parents pretend to be Santa Clause and leave presents for them under the tree signed "Love Santa" to make it look like he had actually been there! There was no easy way to do it!

Lazlo seemed interested in Edward's first clarification. "Complex kissing?"

Edward peeked up at the monkey. "Yeah." He wondered if _**"complex" **_was the right word to use.

Lazlo had fascination in his eyes. "Like how?"

Edward sighed nervously. "….…..Um……" They were both experienced when it came to kissing. They'd been kissing _each other _for quite awhile now without any trouble, pecks or not. But that was hardly the type of kissing Edward was referring to. "….It's hard to explain.."

"…Ok, then what else was there besides kissing? If two people like each other a lot….?" Lazlo pressed the issue further.

Edward rubbed his hands together, feeling the cold evening air creep up on him. "….There's…….Well, there's….." He fought with his mind. "W-when two people…._really _like each other… they do _stuff _and…_things_…"

Lazlo blinked. "What kind of stuff and things?"

Edward felt his cheeks about to burn off. This was far enough! He couldn't do it! He just couldn't bring himself to taint the innocent monkey. He liked him the way he was.

Lazlo sighed heavily, noticing Edward's tension. He returned to the window. "….It's ok….never mind."

Edward wrapped his arms around himself to fend off the breeze. "….Sorry….I..-"

"It's just that I feel _so _dumb not knowing. ….like everyone has some sort of advantage over me……" Laz explained.

"…N-no, it's…-" Edward lowered his head. He could tell that this was really bothering Lazlo, which was unusual because most things didn't.

The monkey slid down the wall and sat next to him now. "Is it bad though, Edward? Is it bad not knowing?"

Edward thought about this; not only for an answer for Lazlo, but also for himself. They were both bordering the ages of 14 and 15, good times where they should at least be knowledgeable about these subjects. But could it actually be referred to as a "_bad" _thing to not know as much as everyone else? What was _knowing _anyway? And if knowing was so important, how was older Lazlo so clueless about the whole matter while year-younger Edward knew every detail?

Well, the only reason _he _knew so much was because of his older brothers and their big mouths. He might as well write a book about all the things he'd learned from them…or had _overheard _in any case. He cringed at the thought.

But still, was it bad _not knowing_? The two of them were still alive, weren't they? And they were still together, weren't they? Was knowing really as important as it was made out to be?

The answer was obvious. After a moment, the platypus finally shook his head. "….No, it's not bad."

"But I feel like a loser!"

Edward retorted, "A loser? Since when?"

Lazlo kept his eyes lowered.

Edward was surprised. He felt like he and Lazlo actually had something in common for once. He thought about what he would have wanted someone to say to him. "You're not a loser."

"But I _feel _like one!" Lazlo was dwelling on the issue too hard.

Edward tried to think of something to say. "Would yah settle down? I think you'll just _know _when you know! Til then, you're fine."

Lazlo leaned closer. "But _how _will I know when I know?"

Edward tried to stay calm. "You just will!"

"But when?" The monkey had pleading eyes.

"How should I know?!"

Lazlo pressed on. "You mean it hasn't happened to you yet?"

Edward was about to rip his hair out. "_No_, it hasn't! I think you would _**KNOW **_if it had!!"

"W-Well what if it happened…. _now_??" Lazlo exclaimed.

Edward froze and gave him a stunned look.

The monkey slammed his mouth shut, realizing what he had just asked.

Edward looked away from him quickly to avoid the discomfort of the situation.

The dimly lit atmosphere of the tree house suddenly changed.

Lazlo searched his mind in a panic. "I-I mean…hypothetically speaking…"

It took awhile for the platypus to regain some composure, then he gritted his teeth in angry apprehension. "_**GAHH**_!! You are the most annoying person I've _**ever **_known!! Get up!"

Lazlo blinked. "..Wha-?"

Edward was fed up with the monkey's persistent whining. He had already come to the conclusion that _knowing _wasn't important, but shutting Lazlo up _**was**_.

Edward stood up and offered a hand down to the monkey. "Did you hear me? I said get _up_!" He grabbed Lazlo's hand and yanked him to his feet. He swallowed hard and then grasped both of Lazlo's arms. "You start like this." He positioned Lazlo's hands on his waist.

Lazlo was turning red. "..Start what?" He tightened his grip around Edward.

The platypus ignored him, not wanting to explain. He lifted his gaze to meet Lazlo's eyes, whom were waiting for more directions nervously.

He continued. "Get closer."

Lazlo pulled their bodies together firmly.

"And….n-now you just kiss me." Edward instructed, trying to remember what he had seen in movies and what he had been told over the years.

Lazlo had a dull look on his face, then leaned down and gave Edward a big smack-like kiss on his forehead. "There!"

Edward tried to keep his endurance. "_**No **_stupid. I mean _kiss _me."

Lazlo looked confused. "But I'm pretty sure I just did…."

Edward was turning red. "_**No**_! _**Ahh**_, do I have to show you _everything_!? …Like _**this**_!!" With his anger and anxiety as support, he pushed himself forward on his tiptoes and laid his lips over Lazlo's. He then opened his mouth and began kissing him avidly.

Lazlo's eyes widened. He was shocked at first, and very much confused, but gradually he found a tranquil rhythm to this and progressed, slowly leaning forward more and closing his eyes. He managed to work with Edward's lips after awhile, and they began to lose balance as they made out in the dimly lit tree house.

After some elongated time passed, Edward pulled his lips apart from Lazlo's and stood flat again on his feet. He stared up at Lazlo, who was still trying to recollect what had just happened.

Edward darted his eyes around the room hesitantly, then backed out of Lazlo's arms. "….A-and…….that's how it starts. I guess."

Lazlo looked dumbfounded.

Edward twiddled his thumbs nervously and then turned around to head for the door. "_**Geez**_, the things I have to put up with! It's _freezing _out here, and it's freakin' _late_! Why do I let you drag me out into the woods in the middle of the night?! You _know _how I get without my beauty sleep! Let's get outta here before I catch hypothermi--"

His sentence was cut off when Lazlo reached forward and grabbed his wrist.

Edward looked back over his shoulder, still blushing.

The monkey had an expression on his face that Edward had never seen before. It was alluring and subtle. He gently led Edward through the darkness and back to his side.

Edward gazed up into his eyes, unsure what he was thinking behind those brown pools.

Lazlo then reached over and placed his hands on Edward's shoulders and leaned down to match his height. Their eyes locked, then their noses brushed.

Edward's heart started pounding. "What are you doi--"

Cautiously, Lazlo slanted in and began kissing Edward in the same fashion they had just been enduring.

Edward fell victim to Lazlo's sudden change in character. He was oddly more grown up and amorous. The platypus nearly went faint at the confident gestures Lazlo was swiftly making.

Time ticked by slowly.

Edward wrapped his arms around Lazlo's neck and engulfed their mouths together with twists and turns.

It must have been ages before either of them remembered to breathe. When the tree house began to creak under their feet, they finally pulled their lips apart.

Edward's hands were tangled in Lazlo's hair and Lazlo was squeezing so hard on Edward's shoulders that he left handprints when he released him.

They both felt numb. But it was the type of numbness that you feel after you first experience something new and, some would say, very good.

Lazlo somehow forgot about all his worries and pressured no more questions on Edward, which was probably a good thing because Edward was in a daze. In fact, nothing else was said at all as they left the tree house and climbed back down the ladder.

When Lazlo got to the ground, he reached up and let Edward sink down into his arms again. He embraced him tightly on the dark forest floor.

Edward snickered. "You don't still feel like a loser, do you?"

Lazlo looked serene as he shook his head.

The platypus smirked and then squirmed out of the monkey's arms. "Get off'a me, I can't breathe."

Lazlo released him sheepishly and rocked back and forth on his toes.

Edward brushed himself off, _trying _to act annoyed, but with very bad skill.

They were both visibly happy, but refused to let the other know the extent of their high spirits.

A few moments passed before Lazlo reached his hand over and grabbed Edward's. "Gosh, it's late! I hope no one's worried about us." They began walking back to camp.

Edward rolled his eyes. "Ah, who cares? Let them worry."

Lazlo glanced over at him and smiled.

Edward sent him a seductive look, and then began to think out loud. "…You know… whether or not yah are one Laz, I think you're just gunna haveta accept the fact that you'll always be a loser in _my_ book." The platypus announced menacingly, hoping to probe at Lazlo's weak-state.

Silence followed, and Edward grew impatient waiting for the monkey to start whining. He glared up at him with exasperation.

Lazlo seemed unfazed, still smiling, "I don't mind. I wouldn't wanna be in anyone else's book."

Edward puffed up his ego and looked the other direction. His hopes of continuing to jab at the previous heartaches Lazlo had been having with thinking he was a loser had abruptly ended.… All too soon, in Edward's opinion.

Nonetheless, he squeezed Lazlo's hand tightly and grinned to himself as he faced the other direction. Deep down, he was reassured that both of them were finally at some sort of balance….

What had happened tonight was nothing in most cases, but to them it was a huge change. From what, neither of them knew. But it was no doubt a change for the better.

Edward peeked back over at Lazlo, who was now watching the stars pass by through the tree tops above them.

The platypus made a neutral expression and looked up at the stars as well.

The wordless simplicity spoke for itself. It's always such a great relief to realize you don't have to face the world alone.

--End--


End file.
